Taking Risks
by SapphyTheElf
Summary: A KaiRei friendship fic: Small risks now will lead to big risks later, but will these serve to help or hinder the growing friendship? .....The final chapter is up: The risks have become life-threatening!
1. Prologue

**Just a quick note to explain why I use all the dub spellings/names except Rei's. I don't like the spelling Ray, it sounds like an old man's name (no offense to anyone who might happen to be called Ray!), hence the use of Rei.**

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Prologue

In beyblading, the key to becoming a champion is taking risks. Well-thought-out, calculated risks, but risks none the less. The same strategy had to be adopted when forging a relationship with Kai, Rei was deciding.

He had tried for months even to interact with Kai, but it was to no avail. He always seemed so guarded, intent on pushing others away, thus earning himself the nickname 'the sourpuss' from the team's younger members. True, he preferred to stand apart from the rest, declining to take part in the excited, cheerful conversations as the team waited for the plane to take them halfway across the world to their next match. Yet this intrigued Rei, rather than repelled him, as he watched the older boy out of the corner of his eye.

Subtlety had obviously not aided him in his quest to get to know Kai. Rei sighed, thinking of all the times he had tried to include him, asking his opinion only to get an exasperated sigh and a short, conversation-ending statement, or worse yet, a stiff ignoring. It was time to make a leap of faith – to do something to force Kai to _talk _to him – even _he_ couldn't last 7 hours on a plane without speaking once, could he? Especially if Rei is on a mission to make him do just the opposite…

He smiled to himself, working the plan out in his head.

"Hey, buddy, what's so funny?" Tyson's loud, friendly voice shook him out of his reverie. Rei shook his head.

"It's nothing," he replied, turning to face the baseball capped youth and the two others with him. "But I was wondering, though, when does the plane leave?"

"Should be any minute now," said Kenny, checking his watch. Max gasped in mock horror.

"We forgot to pick plane buddies!" he exclaimed.

Rei could have sworn he heard Kai groan quietly beside him, but when he turned to glance at the blue haired boy, he was leaning against the wall with his eyes shut, apparently ignoring the ongoing conversation next to him. Rei returned to the conversation, biting his lip to try to keep a straight face as Max, Tyson and Kenny had an earnest discussion about who would sit where.

"So, Tyson and the Chief will sit together because the Chief needs to upgrade his database on Dragoon. That means you're sitting with me, Rei!" Max beamed to his team mate after a few minutes of deliberation.

"What about Kai?" Rei queried, his hope growing.

"Oh, he won't mind sitting on his own, the grouch." grinned Tyson unsympathetically. "It's not like he'd talk to anyone sitting next to him anyway."

Rei inwardly leaped for joy. His plan was coming together more easily than he had hoped. He glanced at the plane tickets Mr Dickinson had given him for safekeeping, and his inward smile broadened. Perfect.

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**So, baby's first fanfic. Tell me what you think so far! **

**SapphyTheElf**


	2. Risk Number 1: Start Small

**Wow, I am in such a writing mood at the moment! Chapter 1 is here faster than I thought. Which is bad, because I've been doing this instead of writing essays (cos this is much more interesting than Spanish exploration and discovery!).**

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**Risk Number 1 – Start Small**

"Calling all passengers for flight 654, your plane is now boarding." A nasal voice suddenly droned out of the speaker above the team's heads, making them jump and wince at the loud noise.

"C'mon, that's us!" Tyson had already started heading for the boarding gate with Max and Kenny in toe, but Kai was still leaning against the wall, seemingly deep in thought. Rei approached him.

"Uh, Kai? We've got to go now, otherwise we'll miss our flight…" he trailed off, gesturing uselessly at the gate as Kai rolled his eyes and stepped away from the wall. Rei watched as he marched swiftly towards the gate, his white scarf fluttering behind him like a flag. It was weird, but Kai never seemed to have to move out of the way for other people, even in a busy airport. It was as if he had some sort of aura that immediately told people to back off, even if they were a long way away. But it wasn't a _dangerous_ aura, exactly – not like the ones on those teenagers who hang around in gangs on street corners, menacing old ladies, although Kai had probably done his fair share of that when he was part of the Blade Sharks – it was sort of defensive, like a wall between him and the rest of the world. Rei realised he was staring and quickly ran to catch up with Kai, who gave him a strange look.

"Hey guys, where'd you get to? Chief was starting to panic!" Max was waving at them from the middle of the already substantial queue.

"We were only a few seconds behind you!" Rei called in reply as he tried to make his way past the many families returning to England from their holidays, or Japanese families leaving for them, and the businessmen with their briefcases. He attempted to make his way around a particularly large and loud family, earning himself a glare from the big haired, chunky mother as he tripped over one of their suitcases while trying to avoid the three small children zooming around making aeroplane noises.

Kai had somehow already made it over to their team mates when Rei got there, apparently without all the effort he had gone through. They proceeded to go through the long, boring procedures involved in air travel, surrounded by crying children, scolding mothers and endless babble about the stock market until, at last they were stepping onto the plane.

"Where are we sitting, Rei?" asked Kenny as he searched the rapidly filling plane for some unoccupied seats. Rei pretended to check the tickets.

"We've got… um…those two and… those three." he stated in a would-be-casual voice, gesturing to a couple of seats by the window and three consecutive seats behind and to the right of them. He glanced towards the window seats – Kai was marching towards them, just as he had hoped.

"But this messes up our plane buddies! I mean, two of us will have to split up…" stated Max, his eyes wide.

"You mean, one of us will have to sit with Kai." Rei grinned, "Don't worry, you won't have to. You sit with Tyson and Kenny and I'll sit with Mr Grumpy." His heart beat wildly as he hoped against hope that Max wouldn't argue. After all, he didn't want to make it that obvious what he was doing, not yet anyway. Just a bit more obvious than before.

Max considered. "We-ell… if you're sure…" Rei could tell that he felt a bit guilty, so he nodded encouragingly. At this affirmative, Max made his way over to where Tyson and Kenny had already set up camp; Tyson especially seemed to have spread his belongings everywhere. Rei turned to where he would have to sit, screwing up the courage to go and sit with the blue haired boy sitting with crossed arms, watching the latecomers struggling to find their seats.

He took a deep breath and flopped into the seat next to Kai, who raised an eyebrow at the apparent effort it took to do said small feat. Kai smirked to himself and turned to look out of the window, thankfully giving Rei time to compose himself somewhat.

"I thought you were going to sit with Max." It was a statement, not a question. Rei decided to treat is as such anyway; this was as close as you got to a conversation starter with Kai.

"I… didn't read the seat numbers right. Well, actually, Max, Tyson and Kenny started planning before I realised." Rei inwardly groaned. He was talking much too fast and it probably sounded like he was defending himself.

"Yet, you didn't correct them." Kai sounded almost amused – had he seen through Rei's plan? Rei made a conscious effort to save face,

"Yeah, well, I didn't exactly have time. I was too busy being attacked by small children, huffed at by overprotective mothers and hit by briefcases!" he joked breezily. Luckily, at this point, the air stewardesses decided to do their demonstration, and he could pretend to be very interested in learning where the nearest exits were and how to put on the life jacket. Kai, meanwhile, had pulled out a book and was ignoring the whole thing, much to the stewardesses' disapproval.

"So, uh, what are you reading?" was Rei's next attempt to initiate conversation, after some ten minutes of uneasy silence on his part.

"A book." What a witty reply.

"Yes, genius, but what book?"

Kai obviously knew that Rei wasn't going to give it up in a hurry, so he sighed in mock exasperation and held the book up so that Rei could see the cover.

"It's called 'Dice are Rolling'." he said, in answer to Rei's quizzical look. Russian was not one of the languages Rei spoke; he didn't even know how to pronounce the words, let alone translate them. But then again, he could have guessed from the picture if he'd thought about it. It was of a pair of - you guessed it - dice on a simple black background, very stylish and adult, perhaps too much so for a teenage boy. Then again, Kai was not a 'normal' teenage boy, having been through more than most adults, perhaps forcing him to mature quickly.

Rei broke away from his ponderings to find Kai back with his nose in the book. So far his mission to get to know him as a person was failing dismally.

"What's it about, then?" he asked in what he hoped was an interested manner, trying to stimulate more conversation.

"I would know if you didn't keep pestering me." Kai looked up with - did Rei see what he thought he did? – a hint of a smile playing on his pale features. Rei felt himself reddening in contrast, his tan skin getting a little darker. "But since you asked, it's about the Russian gambling scene in the 1950s."

"Sounds a bit boring to me, I'm surprised you've got that far through it." Rei noted that Kai was already halfway through the thick novel.

"It's alright," Kai shrugged, "Why, what do you like reading?"

Rei looked embarrassed, "I'm not a big reader." he confessed.

"Neither would I be, except it stops me from having to talk to people." Did Kai just make a joke? "When I was at the abbey… it was the one thing that kept me sane…" He clammed up and turned to look out of the window again. Rei realised that he wasn't going to get any more talk out of Kai this journey, so he settled himself down with his mp3 player to reflect on what had just transpired.

It was a start. The conversation had enabled Rei to deduce that it seemed to be his memories of the abbey that caused him to create his barrier against the world. Well, it was mentioning it that put a stop to Rei's attempt to make friends, anyway. The recollections must have been painful, to cause such a complete shutdown, especially when the real Kai had started to become visible – he had seemed almost human just then, instead of some weird, emotionless robot. Rei glanced over at the boy sitting next to him. Kai was staring straight ahead at the back of the seat in front, looking oddly troubled. Rei knew there was nothing he could do, not yet, so with a head full of confused thoughts, he drifted off to sleep.

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**To my knowledge, the book Kai is reading does not exist. If it does, the fact it is here is purely coincidental. For bonus points, can anyone tell me which musical**** I nicked this title from? (hint: it's a song title)**

**Anyway, as always, reviews are appreciated mightily (as are corrections if something seems too improbable).**

**SapphyTheElf**


	3. Risk Number 2: Getting Bigger

**Hey hey, I'm back again! Sorry it's been a while, exams have taken over my life (and will do for the next month or so). But this is here anyway, so enjoy! **

**P.S. The answer to the riddle I set you last time was Evita. But I'm sure no one cares, as hardly anyone actually guessed. Oh well!****

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**Risk number 2 – getting bigger**

The Bladebreakers alighted the plane, stretching their cramped muscles after sitting still for so long on those tiny seats. Tyson, Max and Kenny looked shattered; Rei didn't think they'd had much sleep, having been up most of the night talking and laughing, earning themselves disapproving glances from the other passengers. Mind you, Rei couldn't blame them – normally he'd have been in the same situation, but having chosen to sit by Kai, the conversation had been very limited. Actually, to say limited was an understatement; after the initial conversation, there had been none whatsoever. Yet, Rei didn't feel disheartened. On the contrary, he felt more determined to break down the walls that Kai had built around himself than ever before. He had been given a glimpse of Kai's real nature, and he wanted to find out more.

"Right, so Mr D has arranged for someone to meet us… I think it's the head of the English branch of the BBA." said Kenny, looking at a piece of paper in his hand. The rest of the team glanced around, trying to see if there was someone who appeared to be looking for them and keep an eye on their bags, piled in a heap, at the same time. It was difficult to see through the bustling crowds – everyone seemed to be in a rush, and carrying about five thousand bags each.

Suddenly, a friendly voice spoke from behind. "Excuse me, are you the Bladebreakers?" They looked round in relief. Standing in front of them was the person they would have thought least likely to be the head of _anything_, let alone a branch of the most prestigious beyblading society in the world, the BBA. She was in her mid-twenties, with long red hair tied in a loose ponytail, and she was wearing jeans, a faded blue t-shirt and a scatter-brained expression. This provided quite a contrast with Mr Dickinson's neat suits and formal appearance. She stuck out her hand.

"Hi, I'm Harriet Davies, nice to meet you all. I trust you had a good flight?"

They all nodded and smiled as she shook each of their hands in turn, talking all the while. "… Your hotel is about five minutes away, so I'm taking you there in my car. There are three rooms booked, two doubles and a single. You'll have to fight it out amongst yourselves to see who gets the single, I'm afraid!"

Feeling slightly dazed at the amount of energy this woman seemed to possess, even at this late at night, the team picked up their bags and started to follow her as she made her way to outside to where the car was waiting in the pouring rain – "Sorry about the rubbish weather, but it _is_ England, you know!" – and dived into it to escape the downpour.

Sitting in the car, they listened as Harriet explained to them all about the tournament they were about to participate in. It was basically the same as most others they had done – three of them would face three from another team, two out of three wins. Rei switched off as she kept talking, and found himself staring at Kai absentmindedly, who was sitting in the front seat. Rei was in the middle of the back seat, sandwiched between Max on one side and Tyson and Kenny on the other side. But for once, he didn't mind. He had the perfect vantage point to study Kai from without anyone knowing, on the pretence that he was looking out of the front window.

Kai seemed to have recovered from his recollection on the plane. He was no longer tense and troubled, merely looking coolly ahead at the traffic in front as they pulled out of the airport. He had put his cold mask back on, and it seemed as impenetrable as ever on first glance. Yet Rei knew that under the surface, cracks were beginning to show, and he sought to widen those cracks as much as he could. But what next?

The car had stopped outside a huge, white building, with hundreds of windows set in rows. "Here we are!" stated Harriet cheerfully as she hopped out and opened the boot of the car so that they could retrieve their luggage. Kai grabbed his bags and was already stalking off towards the main entrance.

"Hey…" Rei called after Kai, on a whim, "D'you mind if I share a room with you?"

Kai continued to walk off, feeling surprised; he'd thought that the plane journey would have been enough to put Rei off. He threw a quick "Whatever." over his shoulder as he tried to collect his thoughts. Why had he just said that, and was not even bothered about sharing his own, private space? Did he _want_ this attention, these clumsy attempts at friendship? A few months ago, this would have been a decisive no. But now… he wasn't so sure.

Rei jogged to keep up with Kai's strides, finally catching up in the lobby. As Kai collected the keys to their rooms, he gazed around the cosy room, with its lush red carpeting and rose-coloured wallpaper. It seemed to be quite a decent hotel, unlike some of the dumps the BBA had put them in before. He shuddered to remember one particularly shabby one, where they had found a cockroach scuttling around under one of the beds. The rest of the team had found it immensely funny that he was utterly creeped out by it, and refused to take his shoes off in the hotel "in case a cockroach ran into them"!

Speaking of his team, they had emerged through the doorway, dripping all over the carpet. The hotel clerk simply smiled amiably, and beckoned them upstairs. They climbed several sets of stairs and emerged on a landing that only contained three rooms; presumably theirs. Rei followed Kai into one of the rooms, while Max and Kenny insisted that Tyson take the single room, because of his unbearably loud snoring.

The two unpacked in silence, dumping all of their clothes and possessions into the chest of drawers provided before quickly changing into their nightclothes and climbing into bed. However, neither boy seemed particularly sleepy, having slept on the flight.

Rei huddled under his covers, listening to the rain thundering onto the window. "Have you been to England before? Does it _always _rain like this?" he enquired.

"Once, but I didn't have a chance to notice the weather. Wasn't outside much." came the short reply from the other side of the room.

"How come?"

"Training." Damn, even shorter. Rei was going to have to work hard if he wanted conversation. He raised his eyebrows.

"Training?"

"Abbey training."

"Why were you in England for that?" he asked, curiously.

"Why do you _care_?" Kai said angrily. The sore point had been touched again. But this time, Rei wasn't letting go so easily. Kai's reluctance to even sustain a simple conversation was starting to bug him, and he figured that this was the hurdle that needed to be jumped first.

"It's called 'taking an interest in other people's lives'." he said sarcastically, "It's what people do when they spend time together. We're sharing a room, we should at least get to know each other a bit better."

"Ooh, and then I suppose we'll do our nails and talk about boys." he said equally sarcastically. Rei closed his mouth, hurt.

"Fine, then. I was just trying to be friendly. You know, so you have at least one friend in the whole world." Rei was now also angry, and he turned his back on Kai. Why was he even bothering with this selfish boy, who obviously didn't want kindness and friendship?

Unbeknownst to Rei, Kai looked surprised, and then sort of… pleased. His face clouded over again when he thought of how he'd really blown it this time with Rei. He felt more annoyed at himself for fencing Rei off automatically than with Rei for probing in the first place. He cleared his throat nervously.

"I didn't mean it to come out quite that nasty," he admitted, as close to sheepishly as Kai could get, which wasn't really saying much. "But still, Rei, you should know by now that deep, in-depth chats aren't really my thing."

Rei flipped back over, a beaming smile on his face. "So you _are _human! You feel emotions just like the rest of us, don't you?" Kai grunted. "And as you're not arguing against me, I assume that you actually do want to be friends, deep down."

"I wouldn't go that far." smirked Kai, leaning over and switching off the light. "'Night."

"'Night." murmured Rei, grinning stupidly to himself in the darkness. He felt like cheering and punching the air. Finally, proper progress!

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**Sorry about the random OC, but I needed someone to transport them. Anyway, tell me what you think... I love reviews and I even like to be told what I'm doing wrong, so don't hesitate to say so! By the way, thanks to all those who have reviewed so far - you're on the cool list. If you want to be on the cool list, then review! (I'll stop being geeky now)**

**SapphyTheElf**


	4. Risk Number 3 : Bigger Still Part 1

**Very very sorry about the huge gap in posting - exam season was so hectic I didn't have any time for extracurriculars :( Anyway, as I felt so guilty about not posting, I thought I'd split up chapter 3 into two, as it was taking me so long to write it. Hence the shortness, but enjoy! Thanks to all my reviewers, especially Chichai, my e-mail/PM buddy!**

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**Risk number 3 – bigger still (Part 1)**

When Rei woke up the next morning, Kai's bed was already vacant and neatly made up. Spotting a note on the pillow, Rei staggered out of bed - cursing the time difference and his stupid body clock – and opened it.

Rei – gone to gather information on the teams we're against in this tournament. Go and wake up the others and have breakfast; I'll meet you in the restaurant. Kai.

Trust Kai to be proactive enough to think ahead to the competition, even when jetlagged, thought Rei as he pulled some clothes on and set off on the daunting task of waking his team mates. To be fair, Max and Kenny wouldn't be too difficult, it was just Tyson who would be near impossible to wake, especially so due to the lack of sleep he had had on the plane.

It was as he had predicted – it took all three of them and copious amounts of cold water to wake Tyson, and even then it was the threat of missing breakfast that finally convinced him to get up, rather than their efforts.

Kai was already seated at a table when they arrived downstairs, casually reading a newspaper and drinking a cup of coffee. He looked unnervingly awake, considering they had just been on a 7-hour flight and he had already been out and about that morning.

"About time." he muttered, on seeing them approach the table.

"Yeah, sorry about that," said Rei apologetically, plonking his cereal bowl in the place opposite from Kai. "I'm not as good at waking Tyson as you. He's not scared of me!"

Kai didn't seem to be listening. He rummaged in a carrier bag by his feet and pulled out a wodge of papers, spreading them in the middle of the table while trying to keep them as far away from Tyson's many plates and bowls as possible.

"Are these stats on the teams we're against?" asked Kenny curiously. Kai affirmed this with a nod. "Have you got any information on the team we're up against first? What are they called again, Beybladers Unlimited?"

"Crap name." laughed Tyson, shovelling bacon into his mouth. Kenny ignored him and continued talking.

"Because I couldn't find anything. They must be a relatively new team, but even so it's crazy that a team that can make it into this tournament has no available stats, or even a fan base! It's like they've never bladed in public before!"

Kai studied one of the pieces of paper, and handed it over to Kenny. "Use this and think up a strategy for the match." He turned to the rest of the team. "We need to train."

On arriving at the hotel's private training room, Kai set Tyson and Max in a battle against each other, then proceeded to give Rei pointers on how to improve his launch technique. Rei was confused. It was as if their conversation last night had never happened! Had he dreamt it or was it the product of wishful thinking? Kai was back to his usual self, carefully keeping his distance and not talking more than was absolutely necessary. This proceeded to go on for about half an hour before Rei suddenly cracked and, feeling brave, he tackled Kai about his coldness.

Kai gave a curiously furtive glance towards the other side of the room, where the other two team members were blading, and beckoned Rei into the corner. "It's not that I don't want to be friends, Rei," he muttered, "it's more because I don't want to give _them_" he nodded towards the others, "the idea that I'm in any way playing favourites."

Rei nodded in comprehension. He was just being paranoid, typical. But yet, there appeared to be something Kai wasn't telling him. His glance, the way he didn't seem to want to be overheard… Rei didn't quite buy his story. He started to walk back to the beydish, but stopped when Kai caught his sleeve and murmured "Thanks for last night, by the way.", then carried on walking as if hadn't said anything. Rei shook his head. There was a lot he had left to learn about Kai.

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**Hope you liked it. The next half probably won't be up for just over a week, as I am going on holiday, unless I really surprise myself with my proactivity, which is unlikely looking at the weekend I have ahead of me! Gah, so many commas lol**

**Please review and feel free to PM me if you so choose, I like to make friends! SapphyTheElf**


	5. Risk Number 3 : Bigger Still Part 2

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It didn't seem possible, but it was time to begin the tournament after only a day of training. With Kenny nervously mumbling stats to himself, they descended into the arena amidst ear piercing cheers from their many fans.

"Check out the competition!" grinned Tyson, pointing across to the other side of the room. Everyone turned to stare at the eye-hurting sight before them.

The other team were dressed like children's television presenters, all bright, clashing colours and patterns. It looked like they had got dressed in the dark.

"Let's hope they beyblade better than they dress themselves!" Rei joked.

"You have got to be kidding me. They look like they were in an explosion at a paint factory!" Kai hissed surprisingly, nodding towards the other team, who were flirting, giggling and generally playing up to the crowd. There were two girls and two boys, the perfect pop band set up. They seemed to notice the Bladebreakers staring and each gave a cheeky wave, some accompanied by a wink, which made Max and Kenny blush. Quickly, they turned away and Kenny gave some last minute instructions.

"Ooookaaaay, let's get this thing started!" a voice boomed suddenly, and the familiar figure of DJ Jazzman appeared at the centre of the arena. He was dressed in a Union Jack waistcoat, obviously his attempt to fit in with the 'culture' of the host country, much like the cowboy getup for America. Rei wondered silently exactly _why _he thought it was a good idea to do this, then gave up trying to fathom the inner workings of the Jazzman's brain, deciding him either completely mad or blind. Then he wondered at himself, judging other people's clothes twice in less than 5 minutes. Must be Mariah's influence.

Tyson stepped confidently up to the dish, launcher in hand, ready to go. The other team seemed to be playing 'rock, paper, scissors' in order to decide who was to go. With an ear-splitting screech of "Yaay! I won!" a girl with short pink plaits bounded up to face Tyson, nearly tripping up the step. Rei turned to Kai just in time to see him roll his eyes in disgust.

On the count of three, both opponents launched their blades, the girl's nearly missing the dish altogether. "Oops!" she giggled.

"Take this seriously, why don't you!" yelled Tyson in frustration at the apparent weakness of his opponent. She appeared to be struggling to control her blade, and he easily knocked it out.

Rei was next up. He walked up to the dish and waited patiently while the girl collected the scattered pieces of her blade. As the next boy sauntered up, he stopped to mutter something to his team mate. Rei only caught one, sarcastic word "…_subtle_…". He had no time to ponder over it, though, as the match started almost at once.

This boy was obviously much better than the girl, although not at all in Rei's league. His blade swerved and dodged through the tiny replica of London, here almost smashing into the Houses of Parliament, now narrowly avoiding the London Eye… Rei was gaining on him every second. The boy seemed to realise this and turned to meet him head on. His cheap blade cracked down the middle and flew into the air as Rei's smacked into it, winning Rei the match and thus, his team the round.

Max battled the other girl, as it was a best of three round, though his match was only for show, as they had already won. When Max had finished and headed back to the Bladebreakers, instead of congratulating his team members, Kai simply said "That was not right. That was much too easy."

"Surely that just shows how much we've improved, if we can beat England's best!" Max remarked optimistically. "I mean, we wouldn't have been able to do that before!"

"Yes, we would." stated Kai flatly. "I'm telling you, there was something odd about that team and their play."

"Care to elaborate?"

"I can't put my finger on it, but it was there." With that, he stalked off towards the hotel, gesturing for the others to follow him. Glancing quizzically at each other, they obliged. _I'll ask him later_, thought Rei. _Maybe it's one of those things he doesn't want the others to know._

True to his word, Rei did attempt to ask Kai later. They were chatting almost amiably, Rei trying to find the right way to approach the subject. He finally opened his mouth to question him when… the phone rang. _Damn_.

Kai answered slightly shortly. "Hello? Who is this?" He listened for a second, and then went off in a tirade of angry Russian. Rei gaped, staring at Kai's increasingly blackening expression. When he stopped, it was for a long time. He appeared to be listening, but what he heard was not to his taste. He continued to frown, but that was mingled with another emotion – fear? Finally, he barked something more in Russian down the phone, then slammed the receiver down on the cradle and sat heavily on his bed with his head in his hands.

"Uh, Kai? Can I ask what that was about?" said Rei tentatively, after a few minutes. Kai's response was to shoot him a cold glare and depart silently from the room.

Rei sat back on his bed and put his head in his hands like Kai had just done. Had he just undone all his good work in one fell swoop? Perhaps taking risks was overrated… yet they had got him this far…

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**Hope you liked it, here's the usual reminder to R'n'R.**

**Cheers, SapphyTheElf**


	6. Risk Number 4: The Biggest of All Part 1

**Hey guys, long time no see! We're entering the climax of this fic now, unfortunately it's coinciding with my last year of school, so updates may be patchy and have to be fitted around coursework.**

**Thanks to all my reviewers, you're all amazing :D

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**Risk number 4 – the biggest of all** **(Part 1)**

Kai had completely disappeared. No one had seen him since the day before, and frankly, Rei was worried. Yes, he had done this before, but never overnight, or at least, never overnight in a city he was unfamiliar with. Blaming himself, Rei was running along the River Thames, a map in one hand, desperately trying to decipher where the hell Kai could have gone.

_If only I hadn't been so stupid as to pry into Kai's personal life._ On reflection, he couldn't believe how rude and insensitive he had been. Tyson-level insensitive. Kai was obviously upset, and he was never usually that free with personal information anyway, so _why_ had Rei even attempted the question? Hyped up on the progress he had made with Kai so far, he had got cocky, ahead of himself, perhaps he had even deluded himself he could _help_ Kai. He laughed bitterly to himself. Who was he kidding? Some scars run too deep.

With a sigh, Rei came to a halt at a bridge, and looked over the water, glumly wondering what to do next. He looked at his watch. A couple of hours until their next match – he'd better head back. Turning on his heel, he began the lengthy trek back to the hotel.

He didn't know what he was expecting when he got back – Kai? A message? Yet he felt disappointed when it became clear the others had had no luck either, despite the fact they had – to quote Tyson – "walked about a million miles".

"He'll turn up, don't worry!" said Max cheerily, attempting optimism. "Anyway, if he were here, you know what he'd be wanting us to do? Training, so we'd better get practising, or he'll be really pissed when he comes back!"

Rei started guiltily. It was unusual for Max to take charge, but he supposed he had to as Rei was wallowing in self-pity. Normally it would be him mothering the others, acting the adult, but the roles had reversed. He felt strangely thankful towards Max and, with as much enthusiasm as he could muster, ushered his remaining team mates towards the training room.

They sorely needed the hour-or-so's worth of friendly battles, for they all seemed to be rather rusty, not having had a challenging battle for some time, or even their usual rigorous training regime that day.

"Alright!" cheered Tyson as he pulled off a particularly effective feint, causing Max's blade to smash into the side of the dish and wobble out of control. "We are totally going to win this match tonight, I can feel it!"

"Don't be so sure, Tyson," Kenny warned cautiously. "I actually have proper stats for this next team, and they're no pushover."

"Quit worrying, Chief!"

"Yeah, we can take 'em!"

A chorus of indignant responses made Rei smile in spite of himself. Then he looked at the clock and frowned. Where was Kai? The match was due to start in the next quarter of an hour, and there was still no sign of him. A knot of worry had formed inside his stomach, and no matter how he tried to convince himself that everything was okay, it just wouldn't go away.

This feeling still hadn't dispersed by the time they had arrived at the stadium to commence their battle. Stepping out into the middle of the stadium, smiling and waving, felt so fake. Surely everyone could tell all was not right, yet they still cheered and whistled as both teams met and shook hands. At least this team seemed somewhat more normal than the last – just a group of ordinary-looking girls in the jeans-and t-shirt uniform of today's youth. He could see a couple of them eying him with interest, but he just wasn't in the mood for such frivolities.

"Okaaaaaay! Here we are for round 2!" boomed the Jazzman's voice from the speakers all around the stadium. "Though it seems that not all of the Bladebreakers are! Hang on, what's this?"

A thousand heads whipped round to the direction the announcer was looking. A shabby figure was stumbling over to the Bladebreakers' bench, sinking down wearily.

"Kai!" Rei ran over to his friend, forgetting Kai's previous animosity in his eagerness to see him. He looked a lot worse for wear: pale, tired and battered. Bruising was starting to appear on his face, and something that looked suspiciously like blood was starting to seep through his clothes.

"Sorry I'm late, guys."

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**Sorry it's short, but it was the best place to break it off. Hope you enjoyed it - please review and tell me if you did/ didn't!**

**Cheers everyone, SapphyTheElf**


	7. Risk Number 4: The Biggest of All Part 2

**It's amazing how much faster I update when I'm supposed to be doing something else, isn't it? Here's the next installment.**

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**Risk number 4 - the biggest of all (Part 2)**

The match had been won easily, which was surprising considering the distraction Kai's abrupt appearance had proved to be - more so than if he had not been there at all, and their minds were free to run away with themselves, inventing scenarios. Suddenly, the team was faced with a very real problem, worse than they had been willing to imagine. But Kai was refusing to acknowledge that anything had happened at all, glaring silently through their celebratory meal of pizza, pointedly ignoring Tyson and Max's not-so-subtle attempts to get him to open up. Rei didn't even bother when Kai was in this type of mood, and actually, he was still smarting from their last conversation, although he would never admit it. The Chief sat quietly, occasionally wincing when he felt that one of the others had gone too far and Kai would snap, but that moment never came. The meal ended without incident, with each of them excusing themselves to their respective rooms.

_This is it_, thought Rei, pushing the door open to the room he and Kai were sharing. He was greeted, not with a look of anger, or of disdainful dismissal, but with an expression he had never seen on Kai's face before. Fear, pain and worry intermingled with a sort of vulnerability.

"Sit down, Rei, I'm going to tell you everything."

"Not before I sort out your wounds." Rei declared, despite his burning curiosity. Was he finally going to get all the answers to his questions? He dug around in his suitcase and found a small travel first aid kit.

"Take off your shirt."

"I'm fine," said Kai automatically in a monotone, as he sat on his bed. The accompanying wince completely undermined his statement, and Rei raised an eyebrow at him.

"Take it off," he commanded, marvelling at the power he managed to summon into his voice, even though his legs were shaking at the idea of confronting his captain. To his surprise, Kai complied, and Rei couldn't stifle the sharp intake of breath at what he saw.

Kai's torso and back was covered in long, thin, bleeding lines. He looked like he had been whipped. The rest of his skin was covered in purplish bruises, obviously incredibly fresh. Rei silently got to work on dressing the wounds, then folded Kai's shirt, handing him a clean one, and sat down on the bed next to him.

Not knowing what to do, he put his hand on his friend's shoulder and waited for him to speak.

Kai opened his mouth, then shut it again, as no words came out. He pulled the shirt over his head, stalling for time, before finally gesturing to a mess of electronics and black plastic casing, which Rei hadn't noticed before, resting on his pillow.

"I guess I'll start with that. Biovolt's been spying on us, Rei, the whole time we've been in England. That used to be a hidden camera, and there's one in the training room, too. That's why I was being so secretive the other day, I _knew_ about the one there, but I had no idea…" he trailed off, looking angry with himself.

"How did you know?" asked Rei, wide-eyed.

"I looked for it, the first morning we were here, while you were still asleep. I kind of had a feeling that something wasn't quite right, from when we received the invitation, really. I couldn't put my finger on it, but it was there. A new tournament, but with none of the usual teams invited? Not even the Majestics, and it's their home turf! And it happened to turn up just as _Boris_ was released from prison. Convenient, eh?" He snorted derisively.

"BORIS?" Whipping his head round to look at Kai in shock, Rei suddenly felt a surge of pity for his friend. How could he have kept that so quiet, without support or comfort? Especially considering how badly his memories from the Abbey affected him.

Kai nodded and clenched his fists. Rei couldn't help but notice his knuckles turning white. What could he do, or say, in the face of this revelation? Words were empty, pointless.

After a short, internal battle, Kai continued his story.

"Yesterday… that phone call… Boris' henchmen were requesting my presence at a 'meeting'. If I didn't go, they were threatening to take you. Rei, I had to!" Kai's eyes were fierce, as if daring Rei to tell him he shouldn't have gone.

"They'd found out about our friendship through that camera, they said. I couldn't let it happen again." He closed his eyes as though in pain and ran his fingers through his hair distractedly.

"What?" Rei asked gently.

"I've had friends taken before. Well, one. Then I stopped letting people close. I never thought…"

He stopped short as Rei slipped his arm carefully around his shoulders and said "Don't worry. I won't let them separate us."

Kai smiled grimly. "You don't understand. You don't know what they're capable of."

"I can guess, looking at what they did to you."

"This is nothing," Kai insisted, "But anyway, the meeting. As I said, the whole tournament is a farce. The first team were planted by Biovolt – that's why they were so easy to beat. The second team was bribed to lose, with quite a lot of money, I gather. Boris badly wants us to win, but his problem is that he couldn't bribe the team we are up against in the finals to lose. The meeting was an excuse for his henchmen to give us a warning about what happens if we fail."

Questions were churning in Rei's mind. Which to ask first? There were so many things he needed to know. He finally settled on what he felt to be the most pressing issue – Kai's welfare.

"That doesn't explain how you got in this state," he stated, with a slightly stern air. "What did you miss out?"

Kai's fists clenched tighter, and immediately Rei regretted asking. What had happened was obviously too painful, the wounds literally too fresh, for him to confide in him.

He suddenly became aware that Kai had begun to speak in a low voice.

"That was… my punishment for what we did to Boris. We put him in prison, and he didn't like it. God knows how he got out, but now he has… the restraining order won't last long. He'll find a way around it."

Rei felt as if icy hands had just gripped his heart. It was their fault – his and the other Bladebreakers' – as much as Kai's. Yet Kai was the only one punished, and so cruelly, too.

"Boris takes delight in torturing me. He wants to see me crack, like I did when I was younger." stated Kai, as if in reply to Rei's thoughts, "He likes the challenge."

The younger boy shuddered involuntarily at the cold, resigned delivery of the last revelation. He was beginning to see why Kai was the way he was. The only way to survive the abbey was to build up walls and trust no one. He turned frightened eyes to Kai.

"Why does he want us to win the tournament? He has a plan, doesn't he?"

"I don't know," sighed Kai in frustration, "And I really don't know what to do, except to win at all costs. We'll be better off facing this plan than the punishment of failure. We'll all be punished this time. I couldn't let that happen to you, Rei, and the others. I may be used to it, but you aren't."

They lapsed into an uneasy silence, each preoccupied with their own troubled thoughts. Rei tried his hardest to think of some clever plan, some easy way out, anything. Try as he might, he wasn't struck with any plan at all, and it was clear that Kai wasn't having any luck, either.

Finally, Kai stood up.

"Go to bed," he commanded in his best team captain's voice, and added, before Rei could protest, "Let me worry about this."

"No way!" cried Rei, rising also. "You're not alone this time, however many times you were in the past. We'll get through this together, you'll see!"

He was aware he sounded incredibly clichéd, but he found he didn't really care. He just needed Kai to understand. Impulsively, he hugged him gently, trying to convey his friendship through that one simple gesture.

Surprisingly, Kai wasn't pushing him away, despite the discomfort of his injuries. He looked quite taken aback, his eyes wide, but then he gave a genuine smile.

"Thanks, Rei."

_Mission accomplished._

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**Please leave me a review and tell me what you think - chances are I'll update quicker the more I get!**

**SapphyTheElf**


	8. Risk Number 4: The Biggest of All Part 3

**I am soo sorry this has taken so long to update. Real life took hold once again, but now that I've left school for good, I have had more time to write. To make up for the lack of updates, here's a mega-long chapter (seriously, it's like four time the length of my normal ones!). Thank you for all your lovely reviews, they inspired me to keep going when I could.

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Chapter 4 - the biggest risk of all (part 3)

The next day dawned, grey and bleak, almost as if the weather was reflecting their plight. Today was the day that the Bladebreakers would have to face an old enemy as, Kai and Rei both agreed, there was no other way. Despite the inevitability of their meeting, icy fingers still seemed to run up Rei's spine every time he thought about what they had to do, and what Boris had done. Kai, on the other hand, was more concerned with the possible outcomes of the meeting, and frankly, none looked good. How could they plan against something that they had no idea what it would be? Needless to say, neither had slept a wink during that last, long night, and both were obviously suffering the consequences.

"You two look like hell," stated Harriet bluntly as she swept towards their breakfast table loaded with a bowl of cereal. "Nervous?"

"Uh, kind of…" Rei mumbled, with a glance at Kai. Kai merely grunted and looked away.

She smiled at them. "I suppose you're wondering why I'm here. As the head of the English branch of the BBA, it's my duty to escort visiting teams to a special pre-finals reception, held at our London headquarters. This is basically an opportunity to meet new people and make contacts. Very helpful for finding sponsorship deals, you know!"

Tyson looked excited. "Hey, we get to mingle with the rich and famous? Cool!" he laughed. Kenny also seemed to be thinking of the possibilities, although from strictly a business point of view, of course.

"Well, if we're going to be seeing famous people, we'd better go and get ready then!" exclaimed Max as he wolfed down the last few bites of his breakfast and ran off to change out of his practice clothes. Tyson and Kenny quickly followed, the latter muttering something about researching who to approach first.

Meanwhile, Rei and Kai traded a panicky look. What if Boris was at the reception? Rei decided to act.

"Um, Miss Davies? Harriet? Can we" he gestured to himself and Kai, "talk to you for a minute?"

"Of course," she replied, with a puzzled smile. "What's up?"

Kai swiftly explained their predicament in an emotionless voice, quite unlike the one he had used the night before. Rei, on the other hand, felt close to tears. He understood now why Kai was so cold; it was to distance himself from the issue at hand. If it felt personal, it was easier to lose control emotionally, and they didn't need that now.

Harriet's reaction was not as shocked as they had expected, however. Her expression turned grimmer, it was true, but she didn't seem surprised.

At length, she spoke. "Well, this makes things slightly awkward, doesn't it? I'd guessed that _something_ was up. I mean, this whole tournament is pretty conveniently in your favour, but…I just can't fathom why Boris would need you to win the tournament."

"Have you got any idea about what we could do? The only thing we could think of was just go through with it; play it by ear so to speak…" Rei trailed off, looking at her pleadingly.

"Yes, that was my only thought. However," she said, taking out her phone, "now that I'm involved, I can get as much security as possible both at the tournament and the meet-and-greet to make sure that whatever he tries, no harm will come to any of you."

Kai look sceptical, but tried to force some politeness into his voice. "I don't think you quite understand how Boris operates. He will find a way around any obstacle that you throw at him; he's that kind of a person. I may not know what he wants, but I do know that he won't stop 'til he gets it!"

"Don't worry. He's been caught before, remember?" Harriet called over her shoulder as she walked off to find a quiet corner to use her phone in.

Rei put his hand over one of Kai's clenched fists. "She's doing the best she can," he murmured quietly. "At least we've got some sort of backup, now."

Kai nodded reluctantly, then stood up. "We'd better change," he said, moving towards the door.

As they ascended the stairs, Rei's attention diverted itself to the reception. Despite of what would happen later, he was actually excited. For a small, local tournament, they'd really pulled out all the stops. _Of course_, he had to remind himself, _this is Boris' tournament, so it's naturally going to be lavish. He had never exactly lacked the money to do whatever he wanted._

On their arrival upstairs, it seemed, from the amount of noise and teasing, that Tyson and the others were dressed in their finery and therefore nearly ready, so they dashed into their room. The two of them spent a few minutes searching out the smartest, or failing that, the least crumpled of their clothes before Tyson barged in, gleefully informing them that it was time to go.

"C'mon guys, we don't want to be late! Wow, you don't know how weird it is for _me_ to be telling _you_ that!" Kai raised an eyebrow at him and he backed out of the room quickly.

"You've got him well-trained by now," remarked Rei with a smile, as he adjusted his shirt. "Do you think this'll do? It's all I've got that doesn't need an iron, and as Tyson pointed out, we haven't got time for that."

"It's fine," said Kai, without looking at him. "But I don't really think that's important now. This isn't about getting a sponsorship deal, this is about stopping Boris!"

"The others don't know that, and there's no use in panicking them, either. We have to act as if there's nothing wrong."

"I suppose you're right," Kai sighed, and then frowned as a banging erupted on the door. Marching towards it, he pulled it open to reveal a sheepish-looking Tyson, with Max and Kenny shaking their heads in the background.

"We told him not to…"

"Yeah, but he doesn't listen to us…"

Ignoring them, Kai led the way down to the limo, where some huge men in suits, presumably their bodyguards, were waiting. Rei immediately noticed that they were armed, and felt slightly more reassured than before.

"Who're you?" Tyson addressed one of the men as the group began to climb in.

"We're your escorts," one of them grunted dismissively, "Courtesy of Mr Balkov."

Kai straightened up quickly and banged his head on the doorframe, while Rei shot him a worried look. Thankfully, the others hadn't seemed to make the connection, and were happily testing all of the gadgets on the other side of the bench-like leather seat. Kai hesitated, then seemed to make a decision and sat down, crossing his arms and legs. He stared pointedly at Rei, who followed his example.

"Where's Miss Davies?" Rei couldn't help asking, suspiciously.

"She went ahead in the other car."

After the men had climbed in as well, the limo set off on the short ride to the venue. _Probably not short enough for the 'bodyguards'_ thought Rei, smiling wryly. Tyson and Max had been plying them with questions about their job, and they were obviously starting to get irritated. _Good._

Compared to the shock they faced on the way to the meet-and-greet, the event itself was surprisingly dull. Boris wasn't even there. The other team mainly kept themselves to themselves, and most of the time was spent talking to representatives from different soft drink manufacturers offering various amounts of money to endorse their product. Kenny, of course, was in seventh heaven, and spent most of the time talking business with a computer specialist who promised state-of-the-art equipment for use in training. Occasionally, Rei would catch sight of some guests who seemed to be tailing the men that had brought them. It occurred to him that these were probably the real security, and they had been slightly naïve in expecting the traditional suits-and-sunglasses bodyguards. Still, it had been quite interesting explaining to Harriet why and how they had left without her and the car without alerting the rest of the team to what had actually happened.

He and Kai were currently standing off to one side, waiting for their team members as the reception started to wind down. Kai was scanning the room, frowning.

"What's up?" Rei asked.

"Why isn't he here? Why bother going to the trouble of making sure we're here, if he doesn't plan to do anything?" Kai muttered, half to himself.

"Probably just to keep an eye on us; make sure he knows exactly what we're doing. You know, the usual."

"Hn." Kai didn't sound convinced.

They didn't get the chance to discuss it further, as Max bounded towards them, a big grin on his face. "That was fun, wasn't it, guys? I'm so stoked for the finals now! When are we going to go back and prepare?"

"Now, hopefully," said Rei, gesturing to the others to join them. Kenny reluctantly wrapped up his conversation as Tyson dragged him over to the group. The men that had escorted them over began to approach them, but were headed off by a couple of the security guards Rei had noticed earlier. Another two of the English BBA security guards appeared and asked the team whether they were ready to leave; on receiving an affirming nod from Kai, they led them to the car. As he left, Rei could hear the false bodyguards arguing loudly with the two very unimpressed men detaining them.

The Bladebreakers soon arrived back at the hotel, where, after a change and a meal, they had their final practice before the 'real thing', as Tyson called it. Rei found himself feeling pre-match nerves for the first time he could recall, and made a few very silly mistakes. _It isn't really surprising_, he mused. After all, there was more than a championship title at stake here. In fact, it made it worse not knowing what exactly _was _at stake. In the best-case scenario, it was the safety of himself and his friends. The worst-case… he didn't even want to think about it.

Much too soon, in Rei's opinion, came the car to take them to the stadium. He almost envied Kenny, Tyson and Max, as they were so blissfully unaware of what was going on. Tyson was boasting about how quickly he was going to wipe out the competition, while Max teased him for his over-confidence, and Kenny ran through stats out loud, stopping every so often to give advice to his team mates on the best strategy for winning.

Rei looked across at Kai. Despite his outwardly emotionless mask, Rei was now practised enough to recognise his anxiety – his mouth was a hard line, his lips stretched thin, his eyes focused on the view outside the window, but not seeing. Rei mentally promised to have a word with him before the match, just to check he was okay. This was probably stirring up some horrible memories for him, which must be harder than simply coping with the situation at hand.

On their arrival, he was presented with a chance. They were shown to the changing rooms, and after having quickly got ready, Tyson and the others were raring to go, and raced ahead to wait outside the doors to the arena. Kai was sitting silently on a bench, waiting for him. Rei seized his chance.

"Uh, Kai? Are you…" He trailed off, wondering how to phrase it.

Kai looked at him. "Okay? Not really."

Rei was taken aback. He hadn't expected Kai to willingly express his true feelings. Normally, it would have been a short "Fine", even if he wasn't. He supposed that was proof of how far their relationship had come.

Rei gave him a small watery smile, which he hoped was more comforting to Kai than it was to him. He walked over to him and put his hand on his shoulder. His hand was shaking, although he had not been aware of it before. To his surprise, Kai grabbed the hand and pulled him down to sit next to him.

"Listen. Whatever happens out there, don't forget that I've got your back. I promise I'll do whatever I can to sort this out."

Rei nodded, slightly ashamed of turning what was supposed to be a check up on Kai into reassurance for himself. Kai seemed to pick up on this.

"I'm trying not to think too much about anything, just the here-and-now. I can blot out pain for a while, if I try. The worst thing I could do now is get emotional."

"I understand," said Rei softly, squeezing the hand that, he suddenly noticed, still held his.

Glancing at the clock, Kai reluctantly stood up, helping Rei up as well. The tournament was about to start, so they walked slowly to the arena door, where the rest of the team were waiting.

"Sheesh, what were you two doing in there? Talk about slow!" Tyson started to reprimand them, before he was cut off by the Jazzman announcing their team. They walked through the heavy door along a short passage and eventually emerged into the bright lights of the arena, with hundreds of people cheering. On scanning the room, Rei noticed Boris sitting in the VIP box, hands folded, leaning forward slightly and leering at them. He shivered.

Kai stepped up to shake hands with the other team's leader, and the match began. The other team were, Rei had to admit, quite good. He admired them for not accepting Boris' bribe, and their play, while not up to the Bladebreakers' standards, presented a tough challenge. So tough, in fact, that Rei lost the first round due to his nerves.

Thankfully, Kai was still on top of his game, and Max was better than ever. Tyson was pouting in the corner because he hadn't been chosen to play. However, he was beaten four to one that Max needed more exposure, and besides, he had battled in both the other matches. Therefore, victory was soon claimed by the world champions and thus Kai had to at last come face to face with Boris.

"Would the captain of the Bladebreakers please step forward to receive the tournament trophy and an exclusive sponsorship deal from our patron?" the Jazzman bellowed into his microphone, not seeming to realise that the boy in question was only a couple of feet away from him.

Tyson, Max and Kenny glanced at each other in agitated confusion as Boris appeared in the arena.

"Isn't that-?"

"Wasn't he-?"

However, Kai was already striding over to him, his fists clenched at his sides. Boris smiled malevolently at him as he came to a standstill in front of him.

"Congratulations," he began loudly, as if to convince the crowd of his reformed character. It seemed to work – they were hanging on his every word as he continued. "May I present you with this trophy, to celebrate your victory here today? There is also a small bit of paperwork I need you to fill out, in order to make this sponsorship deal valid. If you could just sign on the line… ah… here… and here…" He handed Kai a couple of sheets of paper, pointing to the various places he had to sign.

Rei watched anxiously, wondering what Boris was up to. This seemed too innocent; too within-the-law to justify the treatment Kai had received earlier. Kai was frowning as he read through the small print, and then as he reached the bottom of the second sheet he whipped his head up and glared at Boris.

Boris merely smiled, and gestured to their audience, who were waiting impatiently. Kai looked trapped, and turned to Rei, who shrugged. Slowly, he took the proffered pen and signed his name on the papers. Triumphantly, Boris seized the paperwork.

"And there you have it! It's official! The new sponsor of the Bladebreakers is BORIS BALKOV!"

Boris waved to the crowd, beckoned to the rest of the Bladebreakers to follow him, and slung his arm around Kai's shoulders, steering him towards the exit. Rei ran to catch up, finally doing so in the stadium's foyer.

"I would like to take you all out for a meal to celebrate," Boris said, looking around at the members of the team and Harriet, who had just arrived.

"Hold on a minute, I need to, uh, use the bathroom," Rei lied, dragging Kai with him, "Which way was it again, Kai?"

"While you are doing that, perhaps you others would like to collect your possessions from the changing room?" enquired Boris, smoothly.

Kai and Rei ran down the hall, knowing that they would not have much time to talk.

"It was a retraction of the restraining order."

"What?"

"It was hidden amongst the paperwork for the sponsorship deal. I had no choice, I had to sign it. He's now perfectly within the law to be near me. How could I have been so _stupid_?" Kai groaned.

"What do you mean?"

"This event – the only way for him to be near me was on official business. And the only way for him to get near me outside of that was if I signed a retraction."

"We can't go to this meal. Something bad's going to happen, I just know it," Rei said, his voice shaking slightly.

"How could we get out of it? It would just make it worse in the end." Kai stated in a measured voice. "As much as I hate to do so, I think we just have to rely on Harriet and the backup to help us if we get into trouble."

Deciding that if they took any longer, Boris would get suspicious, they headed to the changing room. Once there, they collected their possessions, and then walked back to the foyer. They found Boris in full flow, talking about the arrangements for the meal.

"We will have to take two cars, I'm afraid. There is simply not enough room for Miss Davies, your team, myself and my aides. Let's see… I think it best for you three" he gestured to Max, Kenny and Tyson, "to ride with Miss Davies, Gorsky, Dawson and Andrews. That means that Mr Hiwatari and Mr Kon are coming with me and my remaining associates in the other car."

Rei's heart skipped a beat. To be alone with Boris… that would be a perfect time for him to strike.

He cleared his throat and looked directly at Boris with as much courage as he could muster. "Wouldn't it make more sense for me and Kai to go with the rest of our team mates? We could just swap with two of your aides?"

"No," blurted Boris, rather too quickly. He rambled something half-incomprehensible about company policy, and then swept off towards the cars. The associates looked as if they were going to make sure Kai and Rei ended up in the right car, so Rei didn't see the point in arguing further.

When everyone was seated in the cars, they began to drive off, the other car in the lead. For several miles, the car they were in followed the other through the busy streets of London, and Rei settled down a little bit. They did seem to be heading for a restaurant, after all. As soon as he thought that, however, the car did a violent left turn, and began to drive in a completely different direction from the one the other car was taking. Half an hour later, he was definitely sure that they weren't going to a restaurant. The car was picking up more and more speed, and appeared to be heading out of London.

Rei was starting to lose track of time, and mileage. An undetermined amount of time later, the car drew up at a ramshackle house, at the sight of which, Kai took a sharp intake of breath. Rei wanted to ask him what was wrong, but didn't get the chance, as strong hands had grabbed him and thrown him out the car.

He staggered to his feet, but found himself held by a hand buried in the hair not bound up out of the way. The hand wrenched it painfully, pulling his head back. He gave a hiss of pain.

"Leave him alone!" He heard Kai shout from a short distance away, and then a thumping sound as he was obviously dealt some kind of physical punishment. He was brought within Rei's sight, struggling against two of the goons from the car, who had twisted his arms behind his back.

Boris stepped from the car, sneering at the two of them.

"Well, Kai. I think you remember this place, am I correct?" He didn't wait for an affirmative. "You might be wondering why I have brought you here. I need to do some experiments, standard procedure for newly re-recruited cadets. I think you will fit in very well here."

Kai shouted something, which was muffled against the hand clamped tightly over his mouth.

"What was that? You would never rejoin me, you say? That is what these experiments are for – memory modification and loyalty to Biovolt, Biovolt alone. Nothing out of the ordinary will have happened tonight, and the reason we did not attend the meal was because you became ill. You will join Biovolt and we shall rise again in triumph! However, if you refuse, I think you know what will happen." He drew a small, but lethally sharp-looking knife from a sheath concealed somewhere on his person and held it towards Rei. Kai's eyes widened.

Boris gestured to one of the men holding him, and he removed the hand from his mouth.

"But, if you co-operate, I will leave him alone. What do you say?"

Kai grunted something.

"What was that?"

"_I said okay_."

"Excellent. Tie him up." Boris gestured not to Kai, but to Rei. Rei felt ropes biting into his skin, and struggled in vain. One of the men started to drag him towards the house.

"You said that if I played along, you'd leave Rei alone!" Kai snarled.

"You should know by now not to trust me, Kai," Boris laughed chillingly, "He's a good bargaining tool."

Rei suddenly became aware of a droning sound in the background. He assumed the man holding him had as well, as he suddenly stopped and looked across past the car into the distance. Coming down the track was the other car, tailed by several police cars.

There was a blur of movement, shouting, fighting, running. Rei was dropped to the floor, where he remained, unable to move because of his bonds. Suddenly, felt a pair of hands untying him, pulling him to his feet and over to a waiting car. It was Kai, who had his arms around him, shielding him from attack. As soon as they were safely inside, Max threw his arms around both of them, and Tyson and Kenny expressed their relief that they were okay.

Silently, they watched the fight rage outside, though it was obvious that Boris and his men were hugely outnumbered. One by one, the police managed to subdue them and cuff them. Swearing and livid, eventually they were all packed off into the police cars which roared off into the night, sirens screaming.

"I'm afraid we'll have to take you into the station to give evidence." said the remaining police officer, apologetically. "If you'd step this way?"

Kai and Rei staggered out of the car and towards the police car. Stiff and sore from their long journey and rough treatment, all they really wanted to do was go to bed. Nevertheless, they climbed in and buckled up.

"How did you know how to find us?" Kai asked.

"We had a hunch," the police officer explained, "that he would return to the place that he has used before as an English base. He took some of his students there from-"

"The abbey," muttered Kai, gripping his knees so hard his knuckles turned white. Rei guessed that it was much more difficult to suppress memories when he was faced with the living proof that they had happened.

"Yes," nodded the policeman. "Anyway, when you failed to turn up at the restaurant, Miss Davies phoned us as backup for her security, and after questioning the three men in the car with her, we deduced that you were indeed heading here. Of course, the tracking device security had stuck on the car also helped!" He chuckled.

"Thank God you came when you did, I don't know what we would have done." Rei sighed in relief.

They passed the rest of the journey in silence. Rei was much too tired to initiate a conversation, and the police officer seemed to think, rightly, that they would prefer to be left alone. Half an hour into the journey, Rei felt a warm weight on his shoulder. Turning his head slightly to see what it was, he smiled to see Kai fast asleep, his head leaning against him. Rei felt oddly proud that he felt comfortable enough around him to do that, and he was glad that he had achieved what he had set out to do, only a week or so before. It was true that he had had to take risks to get close to Kai. He just never imagined how big those risks would be. It was the start of something new, and the risks made it that they could never go back to how it was. They had been through too much, knew too much.

He settled into a more comfortable position and, leaning his head against Kai's, closed his eyes.

_Fin._

* * *

**Well, that's it. How was it? I'm sorry about the insane structure of this fic, it was only supposed to be a fluffy little thing with a prologue and four chapters, but then it went wild and developed drama and mini-chapters!**

**Please review to let me know how I did and also go to my profile to vote on my next project.**

**SapphyTheElf**


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